Lit Literature: My Top 3 Reads of 2016.

As the year draws to a close, editor Amy Jones looks back at her top 3 reads of 2016.

I love books – so much so that my bedroom is stuffed with well over 200 of them (yet I still insist on buying more). So I thought I would take this opportunity to share with you just three of my favourite books of the year.

These books were not released in 2016, but are books I have read over the course of the year and would like to share with anyone who’ll listen. So without further ado, let’s start with number three.

3) ‘More Fool Me’ by Stephen Fry.

Stephen Fry – one of my favourite people, so at least one of his books had to make it onto this list. ‘More Fool Me’ captures a segment of Stephen’s not so graceful stumble through the 90s. With extracts from his diaries at the time, it takes us on a journey through part of his life; the parties, the showbiz friends, the struggle with drugs. It’s a fascinating insight into a fascinating person; both poignant and achingly funny. It’s the perfect book for any fan of Stephen Fry.

If you want to find out more about Stephen Fry, click here to visit his website.

2) ‘The Shock of the Fall’ by Nathan Filer.

A young adult fiction book about brothers, family, mental health and grief amongst other things. This book is written in such an unusual and compelling way. We jump around between present day and the past, being given snatches of information and half forgotten scenarios, trying to piece together a picture, an understanding. This book gives us a unique look into the main character’s mind – his thought process, his innermost feelings. It’s sad but also funny and uplifting; one of those books everyone should read.

If you want to learn more about Nathan Filer, click here to visit his website.

1) ‘I Capture the Castle’ by Dodie Smith.

Set in the heavenly countryside of 1930s England in a crumbling medieval castle, this book reads like a dream. It follows eight months of main character Cassandra Mortmain’s life across three diaries. This is a story of love, of sisters and of hope. It’s truly picturesque, but not sickly or sentimental – there is a gritty sense of reality which gives a true depiction of everyday life for the characters. ‘I Capture the Castle’ is one of my absolute favourite books, so I just had to give it the top spot in my countdown.